Originally posted by Will Kinney, recopied to this forum after being removed from the formal debate, as it didn't follow the agreed upon number of posts.
The Inerrancy of the Scriptures
Jason Gastrich posts: >>>God is perfect. The Word that He breathed through the original Bible authors was inerrant. Furthermore, He has preserved His Word through the manuscripts that are copies of the originals. This can be confirmed.<<<<
Uh, Jason, how would you go about confirming this? All the other Bible versions out there, not just the King James Bible, are in disagreement with the way you personally think the Bible should be written, both in its texts and meaning. See, we don't even know how your personalized "bible" reads, mainly because it is not yet in print, so how can we confirm that God has preserved His words according to your theory?
>>>>During my studies, I found that I had to return to the original languages in order to understand the answers to some of the alleged errors. Was this wrong? Well, for someone who does not claim that an English translation is inerrant, it was not wrong. It was perfectly right and normal. Would you really think that there would be no problems in translating the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into English? As small as they may be, there were some issues. It has been my pleasure to invest thousands of hours of research on alleged Bible errors. My faith in God and His Word has increased a great deal. Wouldn’t yours if you found all of the answers to the tough questions about the scriptures?<<<<
Jason, the "answers" you have found as exemplified by the six "errors" you brought up in the KJB do not agree with all the other Bible versions out there. I showed you how even the NIV, NASB, NKJV, RSV, ASV, RV, ESV, Holman and the Jewish translations all agree with the King James Bible in those six examples of alleged error you have found. It looks like all these other Bible translators, who have just as much training and education as you do, are not in agreement with your mystical bible version that has yet to see the light of day in print anywhere on this earth.
Now guess whom this leaves as the Final Authority in your "humble opinion"? Surprise! Why, it's Dr. Jason Gastrich!
>>>>I cannot honestly say that the KJV is inerrant. There are some obvious contradictions. In my humble opinion, those that have read the obvious errors in the KJV and still say there are no errors are lying and are dangerous people. They have let their pet belief dominate their intelligence and their life. They have exchanged diligent study and rational thinking with blind faith and foolishness.<<<
Jason, if in your "humble opinion" those who disagree with you as to your "obvious errors" are lying and dangerous people, then you have just accused the translators of the RV, ASV, NASB, NIV, RSV, ESV, NKJV and Holman as being lying, dangerous people who have left rational thinking for blind faith and foolishness.
Again, who is left as the sole beacon of light in the midst of all this darkness? Why, it's
Baffling
>>>>It’s baffling how Will can proclaim the KJV is inerrant... it is absurd and irrational to blindly proclaim that the KJV is inerrant; especially after all of the evidence to the contrary. Will likes to talk about preservation and how God must have preserved His Word for English speaking people. This is fine and good. However, Will was never able to tell us why this preserved Word had to be the KJV. Why couldn’t it be another, existing translation? Why couldn’t it be another yet-to-be-written translation? This will always be a problem for people who believe like Will.<<<<
Jason, again you have failed to identify any "Bible" as being the preserved word of God and even go to the extent of suggesting that it might be "another yet-to-be written translation". Gee, I wonder who the person might be who maybe will bring this future inerrant Bible to the light of day. Care to venture a guess, Jason?
Now how did God preserve His words -past tense- in a yet to be written -future- translation that you can't even name? And you think I am the one with the straw man arguments! Amazing.
>>>Will expects us to believe with him that there was no inerrant English Bible for over 1600 years, then God gave us the KJV as His inerrant Word. This seems a bit arbitrary. Doesn’t it? Why the KJV? Why then? Why not a different translation and why not later? If God could wait 1600 years to reveal His preserved Word to the English speaking people, then why not wait 400 more years?<<<
Jason, I have affirmed God preserved His words in the past somewhere on this earth - In the Hebrew Scriptures, which you yourself claim have been corrupted and don't believe are totally the preserved words of God. They also were most likely in the Old Latin Bibles used by the Waldensians till the time of the Reformation. You even suggest that God's perfect words in English may have to wait another 400 years or more. See, you have no inerrant Bible anywhere on this earth that you can confidently recommend to others, because this imaginary "bible" of yours has yet to be written. So far, all we have seen is that your mystical, non-existent bible differs from ALL the other versions out there, and you apparently are the only one so far who knows how it should be written, yet you have not put it in print for us so we can see what an inerrant Bible looks like.
Other Arguments and KJV- Onlyists
>>>Throughout the debate, Will mocked me and told me I had no inerrant Bible. Do you think this was appropriate? If Will has an inerrant KJV, then it came from inerrant manuscripts that came from inerrant autographs. I affirm the inerrant autographs. I even affirm the fact that we have enough inerrant manuscripts to compose a single, inerrant Bible. However, I will not be intellectually dishonest like Will and turn a blind eye to the obvious, KJV errors.>>>
Jason, and you still have no inerrant Bible. Get a clue. Your seminary education has not only stripped you of faith in an inerrant Bible but also of your logical reasoning ability. You may think we KJB believers are ignorant, but we are not stupid. We can follow simple arguments that lead to absurd contradictions.
is claiming:
1. I affirm the inerrant autographs.
How do you know the autographs were inerrant? You have never seen them because they don't exist. You are asking us to place our faith in something that does not exist.
2. I affirm we have enough inerrant manuscripts to compose a single inerrant Bible.
They why haven't you done this? Those manuscripts you, Jason Gastrich, consider to be inerrant are not considered inerrant by many other translators. In fact, you often reject the Hebrew texts and follow the Syriac or the Septuagint or just make it up as you go. All the editors of the NASB, NIV, ESV, and Holman would disagree with you, Jason Gastrich, as to which Greek texts are inerrant. The NKJV editors would hold a different position than the others. ALL these versions disagree with you, Jason Gastrich, as to the six alleged errors you produced claiming the KJB is wrong.
Who is this "WE" you keep talking about? "WE have enough inerrant mss. to compose a Bible". Who is this "we" Jason? Don't you mean " I, Jason Gastrich, alone know which texts are right and how to translate them, but I haven't had enough interest in this trivial matter to actually put them all together and print it in a Book composed of paper and ink" ?
>>>>I encourage the KJV-Onlyists to join the other inerrantists. We know that God’s Word is inerrant. However, we also know that the KJV is not. >>>
The only inerrantists out there today in the Church who can point to an actual Holy Bible composed of paper and ink that anyone can buy, read, memorize and believe are the King James only people. All you other guys believe ONLY the originals, that have now been lost, WERE inerrant, and NO Bible today IS NOW the inerrant words of God. You are such a liar and a phony. You call yourself an inerrantist, yet you have no Bible in print that is inerrant. And your particular, personal and peculiar "inerrant bible", that has yet to be printed, is different from everyone else's. How in the world is this taking a bold stand for inerrancy?
"Let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Matthew 15:14
Will Kinney